Five cars are parked in remote areas of Chicago. There are two people in each car. “Everyone is hiding, doing something they’re not supposed to be doing,” said Rocky Russell, executive producer of the 20-minute dark drama “Parked,” which shoots Dec. 4 through 9.
A tow truck driver (comedian Jay Deep) is seduced by his boss. Two married women carry on an affair. Two junkies try to score (“the comedic portion of the film”). A girl asks her friend to break her nose so her father will get her plastic surgery. And two bank robbers plot a heist.
“It’s extremely intricate,” Russell said, “we’re doing a lot of experimenting.”
The stories intertwine and eventually converge with the bank robbery, which is also the beginning of “Russell and Elliot,” a feature in development by “Parked” writer-director Sonny Coleman. Russell described “Russell and Elliot” as “a mix of ?Pulp Fiction’ and ?Dog Day Afternoon.'”
“The robbery was not originally part of ?Parked,’ but I suggested that Sonny add it so that it works as a trailer for ?Russell and Elliot,’ as well as a calling card to showcase his style,” Russell said.
Russell and his partner Maurice Q. Flowers are financing the five-figure budget for “Parked” through their new production company Brown Flowers Films. “We want to see what’s out there, we’re interested in producing more projects,” Russell said. “We want to keep production alive in Chicago by any means.”
Russell started his film career as an extra in “The Fugitive.” He has worked as a location scout, second second AD, and PA on commercials, and on films including “The Negotiator,” “Barbershop,” “Light It Up,” and “While You Were Sleeping.”
Coleman has worked in production on both coasts, and is a producer of the public access hip-hop series “Channel Zero,” which runs on cable channel CAN TV19.
Darryl Miller (“Dot”) is shooting “Parked” on 24P DV. Producers are Shawn Clark (UPM of the Chevy Chase comedy “Bad Meat”) and Cadichon. Production designer is Wesley Tabayoyong (“Bad Meat”). AD is Kwame Amaoke, who appears as an actor in Bank One commercials and in “Payback.”
E-mail brownflowersfilms@yahoo.com. ? by Ed M. Koziarski, edk@homesickblues.com.
